Emulative Column-Footing Connections for Seismic Design in Accelerated Bridge Construction

Abstract eng:
Accelerated bridge construction (ABC) is gaining substantial momentum in the US because of its many advantages. Extensive use of precast members is necessary for ABC to succeed. Some of the key advantages of ABC are: (1) higher quality of construction for structural elements because of fabrication in plants, (2) more durable materials because of more appropriate curing in plants, (3) concurrent execution of different tasks, (4) reduced traffic interruption and less risk to the traveling public and construction crew, and (5) reduced direct and indirect effect on the environment due to expedited construction and the use of more efficient technologies that require less energy. Despite their numerous advantages prefabricated columns have rarely been used in areas of high seismicity because of high uncertainty about their seismic performance. Extensive effort has been in progress at the University of Nevada, Reno to develop and evaluate earthquake resistant connections for use in accelerated bridge construction. This effort included the study of five half-scale bridge column models that were constructed and tested under reversed slow cyclic loading. The study focused on developing four new moment connections at column-footing joints for accelerated bridge construction in regions of high seismicity. The new connections were employed in precast columns each utilizing mechanical splices to create connectivity with reinforcing bars in a cast-in-place footing. Two different mechanical splices were studied; an upset headed coupler and grout-filled sleeve coupler. Along with the splice type, the location of splices within the plastic hinge zone was also a test variable. All precast models were designed to emulate conventional cast-in-place construction thus were compared to a conventional cast-in-place test model. Results indicate that the new connections are promising and duplicate conventional cast-in-place construction with respect to key response parameters although the plastic hinge mechanism could be significantly affected by the presence of splices.

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